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From: iayork@panix.com (Ian A. York)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Asparagus/smelly urine (not really UL, but I'm curious)
Date: 27 May 1996 11:44:08 -0400

In article <ADCEBD1A966879922@ehrice.his.com>, Edward Rice <ehrice@his.com> wrote:
>
>Look up "asparagine." How it got its name is left as an exercise for the
>reader, as well.

I've got a box here with all 20 amino acids in, and I just took a whiff of asparagine, and it doesn't smell funny to me. Now, maybe I'm one of the significant minority who can't smell the schtuff in the urine, but I'm curious as to your source for this.

Especially in light of this article:

Waring RH. Mitchell SC. Fenwick GR.

The chemical nature of the urinary odour produced by man after asparagus ingestion.

Xenobiotica. 17(11):1363-71, 1987

"The pungent urinary odour produced by certain individuals within a few hours of eating asparagus has been shown to be due to a combination of up to six sulphur-containing alkyl compounds identified as methanethiol, dimethyl sulphide, dimethyl disulphide, bis-(methylthio)methane, dimethyl sulphoxide and dimethyl sulphone. 2. The possible roles of S-methylmethionine and asparagusic acid as precursors of these odorous substances are discussed in relation to the known chemistry of the vegetable."

and this article:

White RH.
Occurrence of S-methyl thioesters in urines of humans after they have eaten asparagus.

Science. 189(4205):810-11, 1975

"Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine the odor-causing agent (or agents) present in the urines of humans after they have eaten asparagus. S-Methyl thioacrylate and S-methyl 3-(methylthio)thiopropionate were identified from methylene chloride extracts of such urines and appear to be the odor-causing compounds. Methanethiol, the previously reported odor-causing agent, was not detected in these methylene chloride extracts."

Ian "polymorphic" York